Ingredients
700 g fresh carp (about 1.5 lbs), 200 g boneless lamb (about 7 oz), 50 g shiitake mushrooms, 30 g winter bamboo shoots, 20 g cucumber.
Seasonings
25 g cooking wine, 20 g each of vinegar and sugar, 15 g red chili pepper, 10 g each of salt and soy sauce, and pork caul fat as needed.
Instructions
1. Remove the bones from a cleaned whole carp, then lightly marinate it with seasonings. Finely dice lamb, winter bamboo shoots, and shiitake mushrooms into rice-grain-sized pieces, stir-fry them in a pan with seasonings, then stuff the mixture into the fish's belly. Wrap the stuffed fish in caul fat and roast it in an oven until cooked through.
2. Shred the red chili peppers and cucumber into thin strips, then arrange them on top of the baked fish belly before serving. This dish is a famous Shandong specialty, said to have been created by Yi Ya, a native of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period. In northern China, carp is considered the freshest aquatic ingredient, while lamb is prized as the freshest meat. By combining these two delicacies, this dish achieves an unexpectedly harmonious and delicious result.